Erik Cavanaugh defied all stereotypes that are generally connected with ballerina. The 23- year old dancer works in a pizza parlour and dances in his spare time. He is not skinny or small like traditional ballet dancers, but his moves are amazing.

“I try not to let any of it bother me,” Cavanaugh says of the few negative responses his dancing has received. “I am not ashamed of who I am. I’m just trying to inspire children that may look like myself that all dreams are capable.”

A post shared by Erik Cavanaugh (@erik_cav5493) on May 3, 2016 at 8:20am PDT

Most of his short videos, showing the dancer performing flawless pirouettes or leaps through the air, are captioned with motivational words such as “Be who you want to be not what someone else tells who you can’t be,” and “Dreams are possible for those who work and push themselves!”